by Sam Bocetta, Free Market Shooter
Last month we saw businesses scrambling to appease anti-gun advocates as people took to Twitter to put the screws to chains like Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s for continuing to stock assault-style rifles. The social media commotion was the result of a decision by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart to stop selling the semi-automatic rifles and to raise the minimum age on firearms purchases from 18 to 21.
Kroger Co has since joined the two retail giants in setting this restriction, suggesting that it could become a trend among big box stores despite multiple lawsuits against Dick’s by plaintiffs under the age of 21 who feel the age hike discriminates against them and violates their Second Amendment right.
Fortunately for those who value the Second Amendment, there are many companies who are refusing to put this kind of encumbrance on their own businesses. On the contrary, some have even introduced new products that reflect their position on gun control.
Sportswear company Alexo Athletica recently debuted a line of yoga pants with pockets designed to carry guns and knives. Since their debut, the “carry-wear” pants have sold out in extra-small, small and medium sizes, pointing to the sheer volume of women who want concealed carry.
A handful of online merchants have resorted to offering their customers gun financing, targeting budget shoppers or those with poor credit. For the countless Americans who have gone into collections or lost a revenue stream, these company’s layaway plans are a godsend.
Of course, the gun control conversation extends well beyond guns themselves. The Left have been tireless in their pursuit of gun censorship. The same people who used to tout their First Amendment right to freedom of speech are now calling for popular streaming services like Amazon, Google, Apple and Roku to remove NRA TV from their platforms.
The hashtags #BoycottNRA, #DumpNRA and #StopNRAmazon quickly began trending on Twitter in February and a Change.org petition said, “If NRA members want to watch NRAtv, they can find it without Amazon’s promotion.”
Roku was the first company to respond to the mob backlash by refusing to take down the NRATV channel. Celebrating the kind of diversity the Left usually cries out for, Roku had this to say: “Our streaming platform allows our customers to choose from thousands of entertainment, news and special interest channels, representing a wide range of topics and viewpoints.”
They went on to say, “While the vast majority of all streaming on our platform is mainstream entertainment, voices on all sides of an issue or cause are free to operate a channel. We do not curate or censor based on viewpoint.”
FedEx has also declined to end its relationship with the National Rifle Association, asserting that they will not deny service or discriminate against the NRA. “FedEx has never set or changed rates for any of our millions of customers around the world in response to their politics, beliefs or position on issues, the company said in a statement.
Others have made it plain that they will not be persuaded to change their policies. Academy Sports + Outdoors’ senior director of communications has said, “We serve a broad base of customers, and outdoor sports, including hunting and shooting sports, are an important tradition and recreational activity for many of our customers and their families.
“We are strongly committed to ensuring the legal, safe and responsible transfer of firearms. We follow all applicable regulations relating to the sale of firearms and regularly review our internal policies and processes to ensure our legal and responsible sale of firearms and encourage safe usage and ownership.”
Hyatt Guns, a North Carolina-based store that’s been the largest independently-owned gun shop since 1959, has no intentions of altering its business plan moving forward. The store will continue to sell military-style rifles like the AR-15, and standard-capacity magazines for both rifles and popular concealed carry pistols.
There have been other surprising cases of support for firearms. In February, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin gave everyone a good shock when he refused to support an AR-15 ban, stating that none of his friends who own the semi-automatic rifle have ever used one to break the law.
Another Democrat who has broken with his party on the issue is Conor Lamb who has said that he does not want a ban on assault weapons and believes that Congress should shore up existing safeguards rather than draft new laws.
It is clear that not everyone sees this as a partisan issue, rather it is a Constitutional issue. And for folks of a certain age, it is already apparent that a ban on assault-style rifles is ineffective. Just ask those who were around for the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994.
Companies like Roku and FedEx that stand by their work with the NRA, and stores like Hyatt Guns who repudiate the political Left’s call for gun removal, demonstrate the fortitude on which America was built. We can all learn a lesson from their steadfast example.
